Immortalized by an Avatar: Games Edition

Many months ago way back in Issue 565 I lamented that some of my favorite characters in Neopia did not have avatars. Avatars are a core part of Neopia and getting an avatar of your likeness has to be the greatest honor. Why then do some characters like Kauvara, the Tooth Faerie, and Dr. Sloth get avatars (ok well I guess we know why he gets one), but some of our favorites like Boochi, the Tiki Tack Man, and the Shop Wizard do not? Well I am back again because I still have not gotten an answer to that question! This time though, I want to mention one of my favorite ways to unlock an avatar: through games! Whether it is beating a specific score, winning through the ranks of a card game, or being in the right spot on the high score table, being able to master a game and unlock the respective avatar is a huge thrill. In all of my years, though, some of my favorite games were never given an avatar! Among all of the great games in Neopia, there are quite a few incredible games that do not have an avatar yet, and I am here to put some good karma into the world and hopefully change some minds about what games deserve their own avatar! Without further ado, let’s get to the games!

Gwyl’s Great Escape

I will come right out and say it: Gwyl’s Great Escape is my favorite game. I admit it! You have coerced it out of me! For those less versed than I on Gwyl and his adventure, Gwyl is a Symol working in the jewel mines unearthing gems. Due to a rockslide, Gwyl gets stuck and has to utilize his petpetpet Lightmite to steer Gwyl around the caves to safety all while collecting gems. You have to be careful though, because Gwyl’s balloon that he is tied too is very susceptible to the hazards of the cave! Day in and day out, Gwyl and his Lightmite work tirelessly to mine gems for the people of Neopia. Since this is my article, I am going to say he absolutely deserves at least an avatar for his payment! More importantly, this would give some welcome visibility to my favorite yet one of the lesser played games in Neopia.

Neggsweeper

I am not sure how it worked out that some of my favorite games are some of the least popular, but oh well. Neggsweeper is a great game based on the classic game Minesweeper. You click on the grey neggs and try to avoid unearthing the red neggs underneath. How do you do that? Every negg you click on will be either blank, give you a number representing how many neighboring neggs are reg, or it will be a red negg and you will have to start over. You win by clearing all of the neggs without clicking on any of the red ones! It sounds simple, but is anything but. There are 3 rounds of difficulty and a ton of gameplay to master! I have fond memories of Neggsweeper and Minesweeper from when I was younger. If anyone else remembers way back in the days of dial-up internet, you often spent hours on the computer playing free games that did not require you to hog up the phone line. I spent hours playing Minesweeper and training for Neggsweeper! Neggsweeper is a great example of simple to learn but difficult to master, and for that I think it would make a great avatar.

Evil Fuzzles from Beyond the Stars

QUICK. EVIL FUZZLES ARE ATTACKING THE VIRTUPETS SPACE STATION!!! In Evil Fuzzles from Beyond the Stars you play as Zygorax who from inside his X-Scrub 4000 Walker Bot is responsible for protecting the the space station from the attacking Fuzzles. As well as Zygorax does protecting the space station, there seems to be an infinite supply of Fuzzles ready for the attack. After upgrading your gun and fortifying the station with shields, the Fuzzles get stronger and stronger. Zygorax is a true hero protecting everyone aboard the Virtupets Space Station. Without Zygorax, where would Neopia get its Space Weaponry, Space Armour, and Lever of Doom avatars?? Many characters have done a lot less and were given an avatar, so I fully believe Zygorax’s heroism in the game deserves some retribution.

Jelly Blobs of Doom

So this game located in….wait, Jelly World? Are you sure this game exists? Anyway, move along, nothing to see here.

Food Club

Pirates. Betting. All you can eat. These are three of the best things, and when combined give you one of the best games in Neopia! Food Club on Krawk Island allows you to place bets on which pirate you believe will win a food eating contest. Each pirate has certain likes and dislikes when it comes to the cuisine they prefer, and each pirate has different strengths. Every day one contest is ran and you can make 10 bets about who you think will win. If they win, you get the payout of odds of those pirates winning, meaning you can double your bet, triple your bet, or make even more neopoints than that! Food Club has a very dedicated group of Neopians who make a lot of neopoints gambling on these hungry pirates. What better way to find yourself a part of that group then using an avatar on the Neoboards?

Yooyuball

I know what you are thinking: “The Altador Cup already has a couple avatars! This is a terrible suggestion.” But wait! Take a closer look at those avatars. Besides those specific to the Altador Cup itself, like the teams and a Yooyu, what game from the yearly cup has its own avatar? Make Some Noise?! The main event of the entire Altador Cup does not have its own avatar which is truly a travesty. Each year Neopians spend hundreds of hours using their team to score goals on the opposing team in hopes of achieving Altador Cup glory. Imagine the even greater reward of earning an avatar along the way for playing your favorite tournament game? Every year I become more and more perplexed as to why we do not have an avatar to use to honor the mighty Yooyuball! Maybe this year will be the year that finally changes.

There you have it, some of my favorite games that I fully believe deserve their own avatar. Gaming is such an important part of Neopian culture, I think these games are important enough to be added to that special list of games you can play to earn that collectable avatar to use on the Neoboards. Hopefully soon we will see even more avatars released that we can try for. Good luck on your gaming and avatar searches!

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